Castle Ward, County Down
This collection has 9,684 items online
The Castle Ward collection includes examples of 18th- and 19th-century family portraits, including works by Batoni, Strickland Lowry, Romney, Lely and Ramsay. Fine examples by the Irish landscape artists Ashford and Fisher show the house in its 18t-century setting. A fine example of a big Irish house book collection remains in the Ward family (Viscount Bangor) library. Books in this collection were also inherited from the Hamiltons of Bangor and Killyleagh Castle. These go back to the time of the Plantation of the Ards Peninsula in 1607. The 19th-century book presses house 2418 books, with roughly 800 pre-dating 1801. Of interest, Irish books, early Continental books (most probably imported into Ireland in the 17th century). 'Country house' books of the 18th and early 19th centuries, including a magnificent coloured set of the first edition Ordnance Survey of County Down. A modest but interesting taxidermy display includes five cases of stuffed squirrels, ‘The Pugilists’, in a boxing ring sequence and a Russian bear, reputedly swapped for the 5th Lord Bangor's daughter. On the first floor see the recently restored glazed Gothic press. Occasionally, as a special exhibit, the work of Mary Ward, naturalist, microscopist and amateur illustrator and first wife of Henry, 5th Viscount Bangor, is featured in the house display.
